Contact in Blue
by Platapap
Summary: AU. The Normandy and her crew are about to take the next big step in humanity's history: jumping through the newly discovered Mass Relay. What lies on the other side, nobody knows, but Commander Shepard is determined to find out. With her gamble comes a chance encounter coated in a thousand shades of blue.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, and thank you for deciding to read my story. I just finished the Mass Effect Trilogy and got inspired to write an AU fanfiction for it! That said, it's been about two years since I've written anything so I apologize in advance for being a little rusty. Please enjoy and tell me what you think! :)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Mass Effect or its characters.

* * *

"_I see skies of blue and clouds of white,  
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night,  
And I think to myself what a wonderful world."_

"Very nice."

"Thanks. I thought it oddly appropriate."

"Jeff," a computerized voice broke between Shepard and Joker's little back-and-forth quip. "We are approaching Pluto, which is a dwarf planetoid with little-to-no atmosphere to speak of."

Joker sighed. "Thanks for killing the joke, EDI."

"I see. That was irony. I will adjust my sensors to better pick up when sarcasm and irony are being applied." The blue sphere blipped out of view and a comfortable silence fell over the Normandy's cockpit once more.

Shepard crossed her arms and leaned back against a corner of the room, staring outside the shutters and watching the stars twinkle in and out of view as they traveled closer to the edge of their solar system. _Space travel, real artificial intelligence, aliens; even after a few weeks on the Normandy, it's hard to grasp that this is really happening._

Shepard was the Commander of the Normandy, a joint project between the Alliance Military, a group of thirty or so countries pooling their resources into one group; Illusive Industries, the group responsible for building the Normandy and constructing the first real artificial intelligence "EDI" in France; and the Lawson Corporation, the group that first discovered the alien archives on Mars and brought technology literally light years ahead of its time.

It was under her command that the crew of the Normandy was to find and activate this "Mass Relay" that supposedly sat at the edge of the Sol System.

"Commander? Thirty minutes until we reach the target. Bringing up a visual." Joker punched in a few keys and a screen appeared.

Shepard could feel her heart rate pick up as she gazed at their new means of transportation into uncharted systems. Trying (and failing) to calm herself, she took in the large object before her with forest green eyes. "It kind of looks like a magnifying glass."

"Sure, if you squint your eyes and tilt your head a little," Joker added.

Shepard couldn't fight the smile forming on her face. It was because of Jeff's constant joking that the trip from Mars to Pluto wasn't as tense as it could have been. Being the first people to jump across space and time seemed to weigh heavily on the crew, so the jests were very much welcome.

Speaking of the crew… "Time for a last minute check in before we do this." Shepard reached over Joker and pushed the intercom button, "Engineer Adams, how's our status?"

Adam's voice came back from the other side, "My board is all green, Commander. The Normandy is ready to jump on your command."

"Keep up the good work, Adams." Shepard switched to another group. "Doctor Taylor? How are you holding up?"

"I can't believe we're actually doing this!" Mrs. Taylor almost squee'd with barely contained excitement. _Not exactly an answer, but this is probably the best we'll get out of her for a while._ Brynn was by far the most ecstatic and vocal about their voyage, so much so that Shepard almost felt sorry for Jacob. Almost.

"We're good, Commander," Jacob's voice was barely audible above his wife's in the background.

Shepard resisted the urge to tease. "Just make sure she's okay after the jump. We're going to need both of you in good health."

"You leave that to me, Commander. You have a ship to run," Doctor Chakwas cut in from the med-bay. Even though Brynn was a month pregnant, she _insisted_ on being part of the first crew to travel through the Mass Relay. Of course this was met with disagreement on every side due to her status, but Shepard had to admit that Mrs. Taylor was nothing if not tenacious, threatening to stow away in the hull if not given a proper position. Finally, she was given a spot as chief scientist as everyone begrudgingly agreed that having someone of her expertise would help the mission. Jacob wasn't happy with the results, but he admitted to Shepard in private that he would rather be with his family than risk making his unborn child father-less.

"Carry on." Shepard comm'd the armory, "Alenko? Williams? What's the status down there?"

"Bored as usual, ma'am," Ashley replied. Being the weapons specialist of the group, there was little for her to do other than check up on equipment every now and then. Shepard understood her restlessness, but they were about to warp into unknown space and had to be prepared for anything.

"What Williams _means_ is that everything is primed and accounted for, Commander," Kaiden quickly cut in.

Shepard smirked at her Lieutenant's attempt to smooth things over before anything even started. "Thanks for the translation, Kaiden."

"Anytime, ma'am."

Ashley groaned somewhere in the background.

"Shepard," a voice came from right behind the commander. "I figured you were going to ask me to get things started, so I came here in person instead."

"Right as always, Miranda," the redhead addressed the newcomer. Being the first daughter of Henry Lawson, Miranda volunteered to personally oversee the mission on behalf of the Lawson Corporation. "Have you gotten hold of Jack back on Mars?"

A frown threatened to cross Miranda's features. "No. She keeps ending the calls before answering. I swear she's doing it just to get on my nerves. I was hoping you could hail her from the bridge instead."

Joker whined from the pilot's seat. "Do we have to?"

"Joker…"

"_Fine_. Opening a channel to Mars."

A few button presses later and a screen showing a tattooed woman sitting in an office opened up. The woman smirked when she saw who was on the other side, "Hey, Shep! Was beginning to worry you had forgotten all about me."

Shepard grinned. "You, Jack? Never."

"Good. If I had to deal with the cheerleader any longer I was going to cut off my ears and be done with it."

Said "cheerleader" coughed in annoyance, signaling her presence in the room.

"Oh, hey princess." Jack's smirk just grew as Miranda scowled.

"If you weren't needed for this project…" Miranda's threat trailed off. Jack was originally in jail for hacking into some of the world's top-secret organizations for "fun". She agreed to be put on probation in exchange for helping jump start the Mass Relay. So there she was, one of the best computer hackers of this generation, sitting pretty in a large office in Lawson Corporation's Mars branch facility.

"What? You'd throw your pom-poms at me?"

"That's enough you two." Shepard easily slipped into her Commander-mode. "Jack, we called to report we're about fifteen minutes out from the Mass Relay. Please inform Mr. Lawson that we're ready for you and his team to start it up."

"That's it? No catching up? No dirt on team Normandy to report in?"

"'Dirt on team Normandy'?" Shepard echoed with a confused frown.

"Please. You spend seven weeks floating in space and you're telling me _nothing_ has happened? I figured you and Sam would be banging like dogs in heat up in your fancy captain's cabin."

"No." Shepard deadpanned.

"Really? 'Cuz the way Sam's gawking at my breasts through the vid-com tells me otherwise."

Samantha Traynor's voice buzzed through the intercom, "That's because you refuse to wear anything other than a belt over your chest! And in case you've forgotten, it's my job to monitor the airwaves."

"Uh-huh. Whatever helps you masturbate at night, Sam."

"Jack. Please." Shepard attempted to bring the conversation back to its original purpose.

Jack rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll send the message through. Jack out." She gave a mock salute before the screen faded.

"She's always so pleasant to talk with," Joker quipped as he continued to fly the Normandy.

The blue sphere, a visual representation of EDI, appeared next to Joker. "Commander, we are approaching the launch point stated in the Prothean's guide on Mass Relays. All that is left is to wait on Jack to start it up. If you wish to address the crew, now would be an opportune time."

Shepard nodded. "Open the intercom to every room."

"At once, Commander."

Shepard stood at attention, her hands clasped behind her, her back facing Joke and Miranda as she addressed her crew on the bridge. "This is how history is made," she started. "Men and women of all different backgrounds coming together and challenging the unknown. The Normandy is the first ship the pass through the relay and as such, we don't know what we will encounter on the other side. I know some of you may be anxious, even scared of what may happen, but remember this, we're in this together. Together we take humanity's next step forward into the future. Together history will be made." In the corner of her eye, she noticed the mass relay flash a bright blue, then dim down until only a sphere energy churned in the eye of the relay. "Everyone buckle up as we approach the jump."

She watched as the crew found the nearest seat they could find. Steeling herself, she strode towards the cockpit and took a seat there, Joker and Miranda already buckled in.

"Commander, Jack has just informed me that the Mass Relay is up and fully functional. All of the crew is fastened for the launch. We are ready to jump at any moment," EDI informed.

"Just give the word and watch the best pilot do his thing," Joker added.

_This is it._ Shepard gripped the buckles crossing over her torso. She could feel her heart wanting to burst through her ribcage; the sheer excitement in the air of the ship was enough to send her reeling. What were they going to find? A new solar system? Maybe even end up in a new galaxy. _We're really doing this._

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out before turning to Joker. "Let's do this."

"Aye aye, Commander."

And just like that, the excitement was gone, replaced by the weight of the world. It was suffocating; the future of billions of people rode on the success of this mission, on the crew of a little more than twenty people. What would happen if they failed? What if only death was on the other side of this jump? Shepard knew these thoughts and more crossed the mind of her crew, and she couldn't blame them. It took Thomas Edison over ten thousand tries to finally create the light bulb; what if they were to become just a statistic in history of humanity?

The Commander lightly shook her head, he red hair brushing across her face as she tried to rid the negative thoughts from her mind. _Just focus on what to do once we get to the other side._ She could hear the Normandy's engine core revving up as they approached the large structure. She glared ahead, green eyes hardening along with her grip.

_Come on, universe. Hit me with your best shot._

There was a split second of lightlessness, followed by her ears popping and the air painfully being sucked out of her. In the next moment, everything was back to normal. She looked around, almost in a daze, and noticed the rest of her crew doing the same. _Did… did we do it?_

"Commander." Everyone on the bridge jumped in their seats as EDI's voice cut through the thick silence. "All systems are normal with no damage to report. We have successfully traveled through the Mass Relay."

A few beats passed before the bridge was drowned in cheers of celebration. Everything from 'We did it!' to 'We're still alive!' bounced around the metal room; there was laughter, hugging and tears of joy. Shepard herself felt a wave of tension flow out of her, suddenly feeling exhausted but a small smile still forming on her face.

One voice, however, didn't sound as happy as the others as it addressed the Commander. Miranda was still buckled in. "Shepard, I can't get hold of Jack or my father, and this time it's not because they aren't answering."

"Out of range?" Shepard mused out loud. "EDI, get Traynor on it. See if you two and Miranda can boost the signal and reach Earth or Mars."

"Yes, Commander."

"Uh, Commander?" Joker called out. "You're going to want to see this."

Shepard paused at those words, weighing the implication. "We just traveled who-knows-how-far from our solar system, Joker. There's probably a lot of things I'm going to want to see." She unbuckled from her seat and walked the few steps to Joker's (leather) chair.

"From what I'm seeing, I'm not so sure." Joke pulled up a screen showing a sphere of blue and green. "That's the nearest planet to here."

Shepard frowned at the familiar sight of blue and green. "Earth?" _Please don't let this turn out to be humanity's greatest and most expensive fuck-up._ How would she explain to the world that the Mass Relay was simply a glorified return-to-sender? While it proved that it _did_ essentially work, this would make the Mass Relay virtually useless.

"Negative, Commander," Joker piped up. "I just checked and I can tell you without a doubt that we are nowhere near our solar system. EDI tells me it has oceans and land, breathable air and is in a habitual sweet spot around this system's star."

"Wait. So that means…"

"That means we can tell Miranda's father we hit the jackpot five minutes into the mission and can go home now." Joker quickly backpedaled, "Once we find a way home, that is…"

"I… that…" The commander was utterly speechless. This had to be too good to be true! Did the Protheans plan it this way? Did they know that humanity would expand, looking for a new place to settle, and pre-programmed an exit point to a new, habitual world to explore? "… This…"

"You're fumbling, Commander." Miranda looked amused.

"Can you blame me?" Shepard shot back, gesturing to the screen in front of her. "We just found the perfect planet right out of the gate! Once we get through to Jack, we're going to have to prepare a ground team and explore. Tell Cortez, Williams and Vega to get ready." Shepard had to admit that she probably sounded almost like Mrs. Taylor at this point, but she couldn't help herself. Their mission was quickly turning into a success!

"Um, Commander. Before that, there's something wrong that needs addressing," Traynor reported over the intercom from her station.

"Samantha? What is it? Still can't get in contact with Jack?"

"Well, yes that too, but… um… we're… we're being… hailed…"

"Hailed?"

"Yes, by another sh-ship. Patch…" a hard swallow, "patching it through." Samantha sounded shaken up, and soon her voice was replaced by… sounds so foreign Shepard couldn't even begin to make sense of it. What are those? Certainly not words, right?

Shepard's mind began to race. Another ship? But theirs was the only one sent through; and these sounds, way too exotic to be coming from a human. Her thoughts had immediately reached a conclusion, but it was too bizarre, too surreal to _be_ real. The planet, the ship, the sounds all of it was far too… alien. The voice's pitch changed to a strong, commanding voice, almost impatient. Right, a hail, she was supposed to answer back. But how _could_ she answer back? She couldn't understand what they were saying; hell, now that she thought about it, she was barely able to stand. The world was spinning—_aliens?_

She could hear her blood rushing past her ears, her breath heavy and her clammy grip on Joker's chair told her she had broken out into a cold sweat. _Aliens?_ She had to be the commander of her group, had to lead them in any situation. One quick glance to her side showed the others in the cockpit were just as paralyzed as she was. She had to respond.

She swallowed, trying to whet her throat and speak past the large knot that settled there. "Ah…" Not a word was uttered. Barely a sound passed through her, silenced and standing stock-still.

The rest was a blur. EDI was urgently informing her and Joker of something before she suddenly blipped out mid-sentence. Joker snapped out of it and sounded an alarm, typing away desperately while yelling at the Commander. The ship shook and the bridge door opened. Shepard turned around; seconds stretched into hours. Guns, yelling, alarms, shooting. It all happened so fast; no one had enough time to react.

Shepard was knocked across the back of the head, her last thought before slipping into the darkness: _blue…_


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! Thank you for sticking around for the second chapter! Few things before we start:

1) I changed Shepard's eye color to green in the first chapter. Forgot what her default eye color was when I wrote it, but it's fixed now. Also, this Shepard is about Paragon 65/35 Renegade; she has done some things in her past that she's not quite proud of, but is willing to do them again if need be.

2) My apologies for taking a while to get this chapter out. A few things prevented me from writing it: the fact that I'm still hesitant on exactly how far I want to take this fic (how long it will be), ADHD curving my attention and enthusiasm, and the fact that I apparently suck at writing from Liara's point of view. I'm trying to work on that last one though, as I will eventually like to write chapters from her POV.

3) The characters' backgrounds, motivations, ect. will be slightly altered from canon, making this a true AU, but their core characters will still be there. For example, to better fit the setting, Liara is a xenoanthropologist instead of an archeologist and her family relations will be different, but she's still Liara T'Soni.

**Whew. Now with those out of the way, please enjoy! ^^**

* * *

_It was dark and she was choking._

_Smoke filled her lungs and burned her eyes, using her free arm to cover her mouth as she moved. Frantic, she ran blindly down the corridor, hoping beyond hope that she was getting closer to the exit._

_"It's okay, we'll make it out of here." Her words of comfort sounded forced and empty even to her own ears, but she had to be optimistic, for both of them. Her grip around that tiny hand tightened as she turned down the hall. "We're almost th—"_

_A wall of fire lashed out at her, a flash of light and heat glaring at her from around the corner. Silently cursing, she doubled back, dragging the little boy along with her as fast as his little legs would allow. There had to be another way out! She racked her mind, trying to remember where she was in the building, but it was getting so hard to think, so hard to breathe…_

_Everything started to blur together, started to hurt as the flames licked at her sides and the thick haze sent her into a coughing fit. But she kept running, pushing herself forward because his life depended on her. This was her job. This was her mission. She was the Shepherd—_

_A loud snap from above caused a sickening twist in her stomach. She knew that sound, what was about to happen, but she wasn't fast enough. The ceiling came crashing down around her and before she could react, that tiny grip was yanked away from her with terrible force. Her world slowed down as she turned, and all she could see was beams of charred wood and plumes of dust where he should have been. A bloodcurdling shriek ripped up from the back of her throat._

"_JOHNNY!_"

She shot up, green eyes darted about in a frenzy. _John? Fire? No. Safe. Safe where?_ The new train of thought successfully sidetracked the Commander and she soon started to calm down. Lifting a shaky hand to her thudding heart, Shepard tried to steady herself as she glanced around. _Where am I?_

She pushed aside the white sheets that clung uncomfortably to her sweat-soaked skin, untangling herself from the covers as she swung her legs over the side of the cot. She winced when her bare feet met the chilly, metallic floor of her new quarters, hissing at both the cold surface and the cold reminder of her circumstances.

_Ah, that's right._ It was all coming back to her. She leaned her elbows on her thighs and buried her face into her hands as wry smile broke out across her face. Shepard had to stop herself from chuckling at the sheer ludicrousy of it all. _I'm being held captive by fucking _aliens_. _This was the third time she had awoken to this scene, and the novelty still hadn't worn off. _Not that I've actually seen them yet._

It was true; she had spent the last three days in this tiny room and not once had she encountered the aliens she heard over her ship's communication. At several points she had wondered if it even happened. (Maybe that was all a dream and she was back on Earth in a detention cell, being penalized for some stupid thing she had done while drunk. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.) However, those thoughts were quickly dashed by the unnatural voices coming from the other side of the sealed door, and reality set in once more.

_I should have done something!_ There was little to do in this room but think and all her thoughts naturally went back to that moment on the Normandy when she froze. Shame and rage filled her as she recalled her inability to act. _I'm the Commander! I'm supposed to be the one everyone turns to as a steady foundation, the rock that will see them through even during the most trying of times! And I what do I do? Freeze up like a fucking deer in headlights!_ An angry fist slammed against her thigh. And now, all because of her, Shepard's crew was put in danger, or possibly worse. "Goddamnit," came the strangled whisper.

So here she was, three days without any news on her crew, trapped God-knows-where by God-knows-what, kept alive by three meals a day slipped through a grate underneath what Shepard was sure was a one-way mirror.

Looking at the stack of trays on the nearby bedside stand, she recalled being surprised when familiar food was slipped into the room and not some ghoulish horror that passed for alien cuisine. Shepard's mind was quick to mock her however, reminding her that familiar food just meant that _they had her ship_. At this realization, she had lost her appetite.

Exercise, eat, sleep, repeat; the minutes dragged on with nothing else to do. She had even tried to MacGyver her way out with limited resources, but her resolve dwindled as time passed, wondering why she was even being kept alive. What was the point if they weren't even going to interact with her? And what happened after she was knocked out? And where were her friends? And—

"_Damn it!_" This time she roared, her red mane flying as she threw her head back. Her white-knuckled fist made contact with the wall with a harsh thud, hard enough to make her hand go numb, and the lights built into the wall flickered before shutting off. Caught off-guard, her fury instantly evaporated into confusion, looking around the darkened room. "… This room is a lot more fragile than I thought."

Before she could dwell on this, the voices on the other side of the wall increased in volume, sounding alarmed. The Commander allowed herself a triumphant grin as she listened to steps rushing about; seems she'd caused some sort of chaos. _Serves the bastards right._ A thought occurred. _Wait, if the cell is this easily damaged, maybe I can simply bust my way out of here._ Her musings were cut short by a loud whirling sound, followed by a whoosh. The door was opening. Someone was coming in.

Shepard's breath caught in her throat as light slowly streamed into the room, revealing a silhouette of a… _Human?_ Green eyes squinted as she tried to adjust her vision. Hope blossomed in her chest- maybe she was being saved! One of her crewmembers must have survived and broken free! The figure looked to be female; Shepard instantly grinned at the thought of Ashley barreling her way hoards of little grey aliens. "Hey Ash," the Commander started easily, "what took you so…" The rest died off as the lights finally flickered back on.

_That's not Ash._ Shepard's throat painfully tightened and breathing became an endeavor. _That's not even a human._ Anchored in place by the sight before her, she couldn't move. Blue eyes, blue hands, blue face- just, blue. She stared into blue, and blue started back, looking almost as stunned as she was. They stayed like that for a long moment before blue suddenly snapped out of it. The human watched as blue visibly gathered their wits before taking a step towards her.

_Move, you idiot!_ Using her best Commander voice, she practically hollered in her head to do something, _anything._ Shaking herself out of her stupor, Shepard sprung to her feet and took up a defensive stance, muscle memory taking action while her mind was still trying to catch up. The figure before her locked up, eyeing her with alarmed freight and she took that opportunity to come up with a plan. The door is only a few feet behind blue, so if I go in for a feint, then duck past it and kick the back of their knee, that should stagger them long enough for me to—

Two more blues appeared in her vision and Shepard watched as they each leveled what appeared to be guns right to her chest. _… Shit._ Slowly, she raised her hands in surrender, green eyes shifting back and forth between them when the armed blues made no move to lower their weapons.

It was then that the unarmed blue spoke up, having shaken off the shock for a second time, moved closer to Shepard and- turned around? It spoke frantically, almost seeming to beseech the other two to calm down and settle things peacefully. But Shepard noticed the two, armed blues were looking at the third and Shepard wasn't one to let an opportunity slip by. She quickly rushed forward to the blue with their back turned and put their head into a stranglehold as her brain quickly ruminated at how to use a hostage to get out of here.

However, before she could even think of putting a plan into action, she suddenly felt like she was slammed by the broad side of a wrecking ball and flew backwards into the wall. Air escaped her on impact, paralyzed momentarily by the pain. The lights flickered but managed to stay on. _… Huh?_ When her thoughts became coherent once more, she noticed she could move even after the pain was muted by adrenaline. She struggled a bit to move her limbs before realizing she wasn't even on the ground!

_What's going on!?_ Her green gaze darted around before landing on the figure she had just had in a chokehold. _W-what the—!?_ Tendrils of white and blue snapped off of a pulsing corona, eyes shining white as they stared in her direction, a hand lifted toward the trapped human's body. Shepard struggled in desperation and that hand curled ever so slightly, the invisible force binding her limbs and neck tightening just enough for a warning. Hearing the message loud and clear, Shepard stopped wriggling, recognizing that her life was in the hands of this blue, glowing alien.

The human tensed as the two, armed blues raised their guns, getting ready to fire, but they were halted by the third who held up their free hand and, in spite of the everything, spoke soft and clearly. She talked without moving her gaze away from Shepard, calmly instructing the others. They looked reluctant, voicing opposition but were eventually talked into lowering their guns and hesitantly leaving the room, glancing warily over their shoulders as the door closed behind them.

And the room was still. Once again, they were locked in a staring contest. Pregnant seconds passed them by before blue dared to speak. Shepard scowled in irritated confusion. "What?" Her limbs were starting to stiffen up now that the adrenaline was waning, and she was panting from exertion.

Blue frowned, muttering to itself for a moment before eyeing the Commander. A few beats passed before Shepard suddenly felt the invisible shackles loosen up a little, the alien still staring at her cautiously. Its aura lessened as it gingerly lowered Shepard to the ground, placing the human's feet firmly on the ground but not letting her free. It spoke and the inflection in its tone made it seem like it was asking something.

Green eyes stared into blue and noticed they bore no anger or hostility, only guarded hesitance. The tone and the gaze were neutral. Offering a truce? Still, even if it wasn't, Shepard was too mentally exhausted to even think about going another bout, especially against something that had weird, glow-y hand voodoo magic. She nodded heavily, "Yeah, yeah. I won't run." Appearing to understand, the binds holding her up disappeared and the alien returned back to its non-wispy state.

Shepard's legs immediately buckled and her back slid down against the illuminated paneling. She rested her head against her upward-bent knees and sighed, the gravity of the situation crashing down onto her like a two-ton weight. There was a blue alien in her room that slammed her into the back wall with weird telekinetic powers after being held at gunpoint.

Shepard made a self-deprecating smile, all her feelings coming out in a quiet, spiteful curse. "Fuck..."


	3. Chapter 3

Um, hey. Sorry it's been a while. I'm not gonna lie, I don't really have an excuse besides how I don't know how to tackle the next chapter. This one's been written for a while, but I wanted to wait until I got the next one going before posting this one. Didn't work out that way; the next chapter has been fighting me since I finished this one. I'm even still trying to get a handle on writing Liara's character.

In the mean time, I have been working on a couple other Shiara fics in the background that I won't post just yet, but for now, hopefully this will satiate you guys for a bit while I continue to scuffle with the next chapter. So until next time:

**See you, space cowboy...**

* * *

Shepard's mind was blank, mercifully so. She didn't think, didn't even attempt to move, and just sat in a fetal position against the wall that not three minutes ago, she was slammed into. She couldn't even begin to process all that had just happened, so for now, she didn't even try.

Footsteps echoed across the white floor and the door whirled, signalling that she was once again alone in her room. Was this going to be her life now? Held captive by magical blue people? Only interacted with when she caused a disruption?

Oddly enough, she immediately got an answer to her last question when the whirling sound signaled that the door opened a second time. Footsteps echoed and, cursing her curiosity, Shepard lifted her head to find a blue standing at the door-end of the small cell. It was fiddling with several objects it had brought in, setting them down on a desk near the one-way mirror.

The Commander watched as it lowered two clear cups and a… _pitcher?_ It was certainly filled with clear liquid and had a spout at the top, so it had to be a pitcher, right? The liquid was poured into the two cups and blue finally turned to her, pausing only momentarily to view the still-wary human. Blue offered a smile before lifting a cup and slowly walking toward the redhead.

Shepard might have seen it as a sign of friendship had she not remembered this thing had freaky psychic powers it could call on at any moment. So it was with guarded apprehension that Shepard observed this blue, her muscles tensing as it bent down on one knee and… offered her a drink? Green eyes went back and forth between the clear liquid and blue's face. _Are they trying to poison me now that I've "misbehaved?"_

_No,_ Shepard quickly tossed that thought out. _They would have shot me, had they wanted me dead. So the armed blues were only guarding this one then and not sent to kill me. Who's this blue then, that she would have armed guards? _The same one that held her against the wall, she noted.

Try as she might, Shepard couldn't read any dishonesty in this blue's face. In fact, had she not experienced it first hand, Shepard would say those bright eyes had never even seen armed conflict before, so innocent and sincere they shown. So it was with only some qualm that Shepard accepted the cup and took a mouthful. _Water!_ her thoughts gasped and she quickly downed the rest as if she were traveling across the Sahara desert. Between mental exhaustion and their little bout earlier, the water was godsend.

Seemingly satisfied, and perhaps a little amused, the blue stood up to fetch both the pitcher and second glass, and came back over, holding it out in offering. Shepard nodded her head and held out her empty glass for a refill. The alien sat down on the floor and leaned against the same wall as Shepard, taking small sips and occasionally glancing over to observe.

It was on her fourth glass that Shepard finally started to calm down. A small smile suddenly broke out and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Look at me, sharing a drink with an alien. Neil Armstrong ain't got nothing on me." She looked to her side and was met with curious blue eyes. She shook her head, red hair brushing against her cheek slightly. "Don't worry about it, Blue," she said, even while knowing the other couldn't understand. She watched blue frown and worry their lip thoughtfully; a very human gesture, Shepard absently mused.

Several moments passed before blue made a tiny noise. It stood up and walked over to the two-way mirror and pressed a finger to a bottom corner, bringing up what looked to be an interface.

_I could have interacted with that thing the whole time!?_ Setting her cup down on the floor, Shepard tried to stand, but stumbled a bit, having a small dizzy spell for shooting up too fast. She quickly shook it off, glancing back to what blue was doing.

Blue seemed to have some sort of marker-shaped device in their hand, but instead of ink, the formally-mirror-turned-digital-canvas reacted to pressure instead. _She's drawing, _Shepard realized, almost berating herself for not coming up with such an obvious solution on her own. _Of course! If words don't work, playing a round of Pictionary should help! And they say music and math are the only universal languages._

Shepard moved to a better viewing position to better see what blue was drawing. _A planet maybe?_ While the picture was black markings on a white interface, the drawing was round and looked to have hastily scribbled-in landmasses.

Satisfied with their work, blue stepped back and turned to the human. Smiling, it spoke, pointing to the picture, "_Cyone._"

Shepard blinked.

A few beats passed before the alien frowned, worrying their lip for a second time. It then suddenly tapped a foot against the room's floor and repeated its gesturing to the picture. It stared at Shepard pointedly. "_Cyone._"

It was as if a light bulb went off in the human's head. "Oh!" _That must be where we are!_ They weren't on a spaceship, but were instead planet-side. To confirm she understood, Shepard pointed to the ground and echoed, "Cyone."

Seeing the message got across, blue eyes lit up and the alien hastily went back to drawing. They finally had some way to communicate, and while it was an extremely rudimentary way, it was better than her trying to guess what they planned to do with her. _Or where my teammates were taken._

At that thought, Shepard's expression darkened. _I'm still being held captive and no amount of intergalactic guessing games will to change that._ She remembered the attack on her ship, and the brief moments that passed before being knocked out cold, before she _failed her crew_. _We could teach each other sign language and have eloquent conversations about English literature, but that won't change the fact that I'm a prisoner on a foreign world- hell, a foreign _solar system. With that thought grounding her, she decided to study this curious blue creature inside her cell as it continued to sketch.

It looked female, but who could really tell when it came to aliens. It had small, tentacle-like protrusions on top of its head and no ears…? Shepard frowned when the visible oddities stopped there; the rest of it looked humanoid, right down to the freckles on its face that matched her own. It was even wearing a thick, white and blue lab coat- human-like clothing! The only key differences the Commander could tell were that it had blue, scaly skin and telekinetic powers.

Shepard's frown furrowed._ So, they're like humans, but with cool superpowers. I feel gypped._

The alien suddenly turned back towards her, finished with their work. The picture was a small, simplified version of the blue creature itself, complete with clothes and a smile on its face. There was what Shepard assumed to be lettering above the figure, many swirls and dots connected together. The alien pointed to its mini copy and spoke, "_Asari._"

_It's sorry?_ Shepard immediately disregarded that thought. _No, that's an English word. I have to try and not associate sounds with words I know._ She tried again: _Maybe "Asari" is a name. Its name, perhaps?_ The redhead pointed at the blue alien, "Asari?"

Another bright blue smile accompanied a nod and Shepard gave herself a mental pat on the back. _I am the intergalactic Pictionary champion._ She then grinned to herself as something popped into her head. She might have been a prisoner, but she definitely wasn't going to make this easy for her captors. That said, this blue had been friendly so far, so a little prank would do.

Shepard confidently strode over and gently plucked the drawing device from the other's hand. She drew a big X over the picture and said, "Not Asari."

The alien's eyebrows furrowed deep in confusion. "_Not…?_" it echoed, obviously not knowing what the word meant.

Still smirking, Shepard mimicked the actions she saw blue use to erase the X and then drew freckles on the alien's picture. "Asari."

The other only looked on in bewilderment.

The Commander tried again. She erased the freckles and spoke, "Not Asari." Then redrew them. "_Asari,_" she emphasized, pointing directly at the alien's face with a teasing smile.

It took only a few moments for the others' brows to shoot up in recognition. With an incredibly flustered look on its face, it shook its head, taking back the drawing device and erasing the freckles. "_Asari,_" it repeated. Then, with a suddenly hesitant hand, it drew freckles back on the picture's face. "_Li… Liara,_" it spoke quietly, almost too quiet to hear, and immediately looked away, its cheeks turning… purple?

_Is it blushing?_ Shepard realized, watching almost in awe as the cheeks grew darker under her stare.

The alien fidgeted nervously under the Commander's unintentionally intense gaze. When the human didn't say anything, it pointed to the picture's freckles, than to herself and repeated softly, "_Liara,_" all the while unable to make eye contact for more than a split second.

_Oh…_ Shepard snapped out of her stupor. "Oh! Uh, sorry." She looked away, rubbing the back of her neck. _Wow, Shepard, way to be a douche and make the first alien that's been nice to you uncomfortable._ Her joke had gone horribly wrong.

She quickly mulled over a way to rid of the awkward silence that settled between them. "Um," she started and glanced at the picture. "Ah, um, Liara," she said, pointing to the freckles. After erasing them, she followed it with an, "Asari?" in hopes of being able to move on.

The alien, who had been watching, nodded, a small smile once again forming on its face.

_So her race is called Asari and her name is Liara. That must mean the two, armed blues were also Asari._ Shepard recalled one of them had white markings on their face, and the other was a darker shade of blue than Liara. _So they have different skin tones like humans do. And maybe use face paint?_ She was about to try and "draw-ask" about this when she turned to find blue eyes giving her an intense gaze, mixed with poorly-hid curiosity. _Ah, right. I guess it's my turn. Exchange of information, and all that._

She raised her hand to the makeshift drawing board and paused. _Crap, I barely passed art class. This is going to look horrible, especially next to hers._ Which, despite being a quick, simplified sketch, looked rather well done. Still, she pushed through and reluctantly went to work.

When she finished and stepped back, Shepard could say, without a shadow of a doubt, that she touted the drawing skills of a six-year-old. She frowned and turned to apologize for her "art," when she caught the alien quickly bringing their fist up to hide a quivering smile as their gazes locked.

Shepard gaped. _They're laughing at me!_

Seeing this, Liara quickly coughed into their fist, fighting down their mirth before gingerly taking the drawing device and getting to work on fixing the monstrosi— er, picture. She took her time, glancing between Shepard and the picture until it finally resembled a human being, faltering only when it came to Shepard's ears and hair.

The Asari turned and offered the apparatus to Shepard, who proceeded to walk over to the drawing and write the word 'human,' above it. "Human," she said the word out loud for the Asari and pointed to the picture.

"_Human…_" Liara's voice was soft in its awe, barely above a whisper, as she stared at the picture and word, the letters so foreign to her, and yet so very fascinating. A few moments passed before Liara's gaze turned back to Shepard, and the human noticed a glint into those blue eyes she hadn't seen before. Before the Commander could make heads or tails of it, Liara took the device back and, with the most innocent of grins, drew freckles on the picture and over-annunciated, "_Hu-man._"

The other stood there. _What are they—oh._ She connected the dots when the Asari couldn't hold their giggles back any longer, and Shepard couldn't stop the smile forming on her face at the sound. _I suppose I deserved that one._ Shepard took back the object once more and erased the freckles. "Human," she started. The redhead then re-added them and turned to the Asari, who had just recollected herself. "Shepard," she clarified with a grin.

"_Shepard,_" Liara echoed, once again hushed as she digested the information.

The Commander nodded. "Shepard."

"_Shepard,_" the Asari repeated with a pleased smile.

Said human leaned casually against the wall behind her, cocking a brow to match an easy grin. "Liara?"

Amused, Liara opened their mouth to reply, but jumped when a knock came at the door. Foreign sounds to Shepard's ears spoke curtly and the human watched Liara's visage visibly turn down. Blue eyes turned to Shepard and the Asari started to say something, but cut themself off, inwardly frustrated. Looking apologetic, Liara simply gathered up most of the items they had brought in and muttered something quietly to her, with the only word the human understanding being her name.

The alien left a moment later, leaving Shepard alone and wondering what had just happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Um, hey. It's been quite a while, hasn't it? When I said this chapter was fighting me the whole way through, I wasn't kidding. I hate writing exposition chapters, but they're necessary and at least it's finally over and done with, so I can get back to the fun stuff! Hopefully my muse decides to stay with me and I can churn the next part out sooner than in three months...

Also, a couple things: I'm been back and forth on whether I should change the title to just _Contact_. Plus, I wanted to know if you guys would like me reply to your reviews or not; every fandom seems to feel differently about this topic. Any opinions? Anyway! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review if you are so inclined. I love hearing what you guys think of my stories! :)

**Until next time, I bid you adieu~**

* * *

_They're being treated like prisoners, and they don't even know why._

Liara shuffled along quietly behind her turian escort, their footsteps the only sound resonating down the long and bare, almost chilling corridor of the detention facility. She avoided the stone-like stares of the guards stationed at each cell, each one of those rooms housing one of the newly discovered "humans."

From the room she was in, _Shepard's room_, the asari could tell their living conditions were abysmal. Surely accommodations could be made? They were new galactic travelers that _accidentally_ relay jumped into a joint Turian-Asari militarized zone, not criminals!

The two made their way onto the fast-moving lift, the only way in or out of the underground cellblock, and silently stepped into the quarantine room when they reached the surface level. It was still unknown if human germs affected other species negatively, so the scientists were taking every precaution until they learned more. When the scanning was complete, Liara was the only one to step out, her escort riding the elevator back down to his post.

"So glad you could join us again, Doctor T'Soni. I do hope your visit downstairs was enjoyable." The undeniable flanging of a turian voice brought Liara out of her reflections, the sarcasm just a touch too snippy to be in simple jest. The facility's top officer, Warden Kuril, was eyeing her with nothing short of disapproval. "Next time the alarms go off, do not rush down ahead of my troops. I don't want to have to listen to the Council nag me about keeping civilian employees safe."

Liara might have meekly taken his criticisms had she not remembered how bare Shepard's room was, how frightened she was to see another being that wasn't human. Obviously they hadn't even tried to connect with these aliens since their arrival! The asari took a step forward, indignation rising within her at the warden's condescending tone. "Are they not civilians too? We should be treating them as guests, new additions to the intergalactic community, but instead they're locked up like pyjaks in testing chambers."

Kuril's mandibles fluttered in barely concealed anger and he turned on her, slamming his datapad into the chest of one of his guards and sending them away. He glared down at her with sharp hazel eyes, not softening even when Liara took a step back in alarm. "_Doctor,_" he was only just able to keep himself from spitting out her hard-earned title, "are you trying to tell me how to do my job?"

"N-no, I only—"

"Then perhaps you can tell me how we should handle a contamination breech? If one of their crewmembers is not mentally stable? And suppose we _did_ give them room and board; Spirits forbid the backlash both the army and Council would face should civilians find out this unknown species is walking around freely!" He paused, waiting for the asari to challenge him once more. When no opposition came, he relaxed his stance only slightly, pleased by her stunned expression. "People fear the unknown. These… _beings_ are locked up not just for security reasons, but also for the peoples' peace of mind. Then again, you already knew this, right _Doctor_ T'Soni?"

Unable to meet his eyes anymore, Liara's gaze dropped, hot shame spreading across her face and painting her cheeks purple. It was a novice mistake on her part, and while she had the degree, it was obvious to everyone listening in that this was her first time putting it into practice.

Truth be told, she was only here by luck, being the only xenoanthropologist close to Cyone at the time. She was actually on her way to her first solo field work, traveling towards the home world of the recently discovered Yagh with little more than a squad of commandoes and her newly obtained doctorate. A day into space travel, she received official word (straight from the Council!) that she was to double-back and land on this planet instead and study a new race of people never seen before. Others will surely join her soon, but for now, she was the only one with her type of expertise around. _Though the word 'expertise' is being generou_s, a little voice in the back of her head mocked.

Liara was never good around strangers; being shy and introverted, anyone who knew her had a hard time imagining her interacting with others, let alone making a career out of it. Still, Liaraloved people watching and learning about others in their most natural state. There was something wonderful about how people from all walks of life, whose history couldn't be more different, intermingle and could become a new whole.

A flanging sigh drew Liara out of her introspection and she gazed back at the Warden, watching as he brought a soothing talon to his faceplates. "This is why I hate working with bleeding hearts." He continued, now looking at her directly, "Doctor, not only did you break regulation when you went down there a day before officially permitted, but in doing so, you could have endangered this entire facility should something have gone wrong. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, Warden Kuril." T'Soni quelled the impulse to defend herself, wanting this exchange over and done with. She decided to bring up the humans' accommodations, in a more peaceful manner, at another time. They were already the center off attention, the eyes of almost everyone in the room glued to them as the turian scolded her like an annoyed babysitter. Liara wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear from the face of the galaxy.

"Good. For today, gather what and whom you will need for these 'studies.' You start tomorrow," he said with finality. Kuril turned away from her only to take a few steps before another turian with an odd visor walked up and saluted. The Warden nodded in acknowledgement. "What is it, Officer Vakarian?"

"It's the Quarians, sir. They're upset about the change in their pay and demand to talk to the one in charge. They refuse to work until they get a consultation."

Kuril let out a low noise that sounded like a strangled growl. He seethed quietly, "It's just one thing after another, isn't it? With the way they barged in, those bucket-heads should be grateful we're paying them at all. The only thing stopping me from throwing their asses off this planet is their expertise dealing with artificial intelligence."

Vakarian wisely remained quiet.

"Take me to them," the Warden spoke aloud as the two of them walked off. "Let's see if we can't negotiate a compromise."

And so Liara was left standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, certain she just heard something she wasn't supposed to and feeling completely out of place despite the overabundance of scientists in the room. She clutched her bag tighter to her person as she glanced around. For a makeshift lab, they could definitely do worse, the asari thought as she took in her surroundings:

It was obvious that this wasn't an actual lab, absently noting the lack of space and all the power cords haphazardly running across the floor to a generator in the corner of the room. Scientists had to share desk space and monitors barely fit along the rows of small tables placed along the perimeter. Around fifteen others, a mixture of asari and salarians, roamed from place to place, gathering and sorting any and all information about the humans. From what Liara could make out, it was mostly biological and other hard scientific information gathered during their three-day stay on this planet. Seeing as how her field was a soft science, T'Soni assumed she would either be placed elsewhere, or would have to work in solitude, in the living quarters provided to her. Not that she minded; it was actually preferred.

"Warden Kuril not wrong. Disastrous results if word got out. Barely able to keep media under control." A high-pitched, segmented voice broke Liara out of her thoughts. She followed it to find a peach-skinned salarian maneuvering around a table, typing a couple keystrokes before turning his attention to her completely. "Still, can see both sides of argument; stressful environment leads to skewed data. Seem hostile and they're more likely to resist communication or treatment. Oh!" he suddenly started before holding out his hand and giving a brief smile, "Forgot; Professor Mordin Solis, head of research. Pleasure to meet you."

It took her a few beats before the asari was able to process his fast-paced speech. She responded with a hesitant smile of her own, if only to keep the awkwardness to a minimum. "Doctor Liara T'Soni," she replied, shaking his hand. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had heard his name before, but she couldn't quite remember where…

Mordin went back to his work, even as he sustained their conversation. "Yes, already knew that. Xenoanthropologist; Matriach Benezia's daughter; assigned to find out more about the new species through interpersonal interactions." His eyes flitted up to meet hers for a brief moment, a grin on his face when he continued, "Saw you rush through an hour ago. Caused a panic up here. Highly amusing."

Liara shifted uncomfortably at the reminder. While the professor might have been amused, she had no doubt that her impulsive actions caused numerous problems for her fellow scientists. "Forgive me. I promise to better restrain myself in the future." This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, even for an asari! She was lucky she didn't squander it with her rash behavior.

"Good to hear." Just then, another salarian walked up and asked for Mordin's opinion on something. "Excuse me," the professor addressed Liara. "Have to take this. Look forward to working with you." And with that, the two were off.

Alone with her thoughts once more, Liara figured she'd best make her way to the small living space provided to her before she started another spectacle. She dodged others and weaved her way towards the elevator using the card key given to her that provided her with access to various levels of the facility. A short taxi ride later she was safely in front of her rented room. She rested her hand on the door and waited as it processed her biosignature, mentally going through her list of things she had to do to set up a workstation.

The red holo changed to green and she walked inside, placing her bag on the kitchenette's counter and letting out a heavy sigh. The last couple of days had been an emotional rollercoaster, everything from receiving the Council's message on that small passenger shuttle, to communicating with the human Shepard, to her, um, 'one-sided conversation' with Warden Kuril. _Wonderful first impression, Liara._ She was only a hundred and nine, and it certainly showed.

She shook her head and started to take off her coat. _No, don't dwell on that. What's done is done and you can only move forward. You were assigned to this job because you are more than qualified. Others would kill to be in your position right now!_ With her coat hung and a smile gracing her lips from the pep talk, she started to scrounge through her satchel to take out some pen and paper. "I should write down the information I've gathered so far, then think up some hypothesis to test starting tomorrow."

Liara suddenly paused, remembering something. "But first, I should message father and Shiala. I haven't been able to since boarding the ship bound for the Yagh home world two days ago." She had a feeling they would each call her omnitool as soon as they read her message, having two _very_ different reactions. Liara allowed herself a small, indulgent smile; it seems the day was still far from over.


End file.
